There are a number of clip constructions adapted to hold a tablet or sheets of paper on a clip board or other supporting structure, and a common approach taken in manufacturing clips of this type is to form them from steel or similar, metallic material, which possess substantial inherent resiliency and provides the gripping action necessary to hold a tablet or several sheets of paper. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,506,147; 1,688,429; 3,023,474; and 3,195,253. In each of these patents a metallic clip is formed by bending and/or stamping and cutting a piece of metal to form a one-piece clip, which in some cases may also have provision for holding a pen or pencil.
While such clips may perform satisfactorily, it will be apparent that each requires at least several separate bending operations and may additionally require cutting, stamping and riveting to shape a piece of metal into the desired configuration. Therefore, while many clips of this type are relatively simple in operation and appearance, often the manufacturing operations required to produce the clip are not of commensurate simplicity.
Another common type of clip is that formed of more than a single component, wherein the gripping action is attained by hingedly connecting two members together and providing a spring to urge a gripping portion of the clip into contact with a tablet or sheets of paper. Examples of this type of clip are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,127,649 and 3,246,914. Obviously such clips, similarly to the one-piece clip discussed above, require several steps in their manufacture which result in increased manufacturing costs.